Agents of SHIELD S4E9: Bitter Tasks
by futuremoviewriter
Summary: The whole team of eight storms the building; each member has a gun in hand. There are three or four bodies of HYDRA agents on the ground already dead as a result of brutal hand-to-hand combat. Skye uses her powers to sense the vibrations of anyone still in the building. Anything that's unexplained is left up to the imagination.


Bitter Tasks-4x09 Last scenes, No bonus clip

The whole team of eight storms the building; each member has a gun in hand. There are three or four bodies of HYDRA agents on the ground already dead as a result of brutal hand-to-hand combat. Skye uses her powers to sense the vibrations of anyone still in the building. Anything that's unexplained is left up to the imagination.

Skye: Everybody else is gone. Everybody but one.

[pause as everyone looks towards her]

Skye: Upstairs. Straight down the hall.

Coulson, May, Skye, Fitz, Simmons, Hunter, Bobbi and Mack reach the door and enter inside. Ward is sitting on top of the desk, facing them. He's covered in blood. On his lap is his picture of Kara. Gun is in one hand, detonator in the other. Next to him is a green pouch bag filled with C4 wired to the detonator.

Ward: They betrayed me. They used me. Like I was nothing. Like I meant nothing!

Coulson: That sound familiar at all Ward?

Ward: You weren't nothing to me. You never WERE nothing to me.

Bobbi: You're looking for forgiveness, you won't find it here.

Ward: I'm not. I know very well by now that even if I was, I wouldn't get it.

Simmons: Always so quick to judge aren't you Ward?

Ward: They needed me to make them strong again, to make them MATTER again. Once I had, I was just…expendable. A loose end to them. Some kind of piece of trash they needed to throw out. Some kind of…of…

Hunter: A weak link-

Ward: [jumping to his feet] I AM NOT WEAK! I HAVE NO WEAKNESS!

[pause, he looks down and sees Kara's picture on the ground]

Ward: [looking up at May] She's dead because of you. You got her killed.

May: Memory serves; you're the one who put four bullets into her, thinking she was me.

Fitz: You claim you wanted the team back and yet, you wanted May dead.

Mack: And tortured and nearly killed Bobbi. And Hunter.

Ward: I never would have done it if you hadn't tricked her. If you'd just left us alone we'd be fine now! You'd never have to see us again. I didn't want to have to kill you, but you left me no choice. Even if I'd surrendered, can you honestly say that you wouldn't have killed me anyway?

[May stares at him intensely]

Ward: That's what I thought.

Coulson: Either way, you two still intended to kill Bobbi regardless.

Ward: She sold Kara out! She was tortured and brainwashed by Whitehall and Bakshi because of it. She is the reason why they were able to ruin her life so badly and make her a servant who took orders without question!

Simmons: Also familiar to you.

Coulson: Bobbi did what she had to do. I'm not saying it was right, but it was necessary.

Ward: She gambled and she lost! Kara paid the price for it and she doesn't even regret it!

Hunter: Actually she does.

Bobbi: Hunter!

Hunter: She'd never admit it, but she wanted nothing more than to say how sorry she was-

Bobbi: HUNTER!

Coulson: Hunter that's enough!

[pause]

Hunter: [looking to Coulson] I'm sorry sir.

[looking to Bobbi]

Hunter: I'm sorry Bobbi.

[Bobbi looks away, pause]

Ward: [to the team] You've all wanted to have it out for three years now, so let's have it out then. [to Bobbi, Hunter and Mack] If you three leave the room, I will disarm the C4. I want to talk to my team alone.

Simmons: We are NOT your team-

Ward: YOU ARE MY TEAM! YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN MY TEAM! I thought Garrett had saved me, but he ruined my life! He added on to the damage my family did.

[his detonator hand tremors]

Coulson: Do as he says.

Mack: Sir with all due respe-

Coulson: Which means none at all? Don't question the order. Just go.

[Hunter, Bobbi and Mack leave the room and close the door, Ward picks Kara's picture up off the floor and he then disarms the bomb and throws the detonator away before sitting back down with his gun]

Ward: You know May, when I got confirmation that Petrie had successfully carried out Andrew's hit, I wished I'd reconsidered. I wanted you to feel the way I did, but now that I think about it, he shouldn't have had to pay for your mistake.

[pause as May and the others stare daggers at him, Ward puts Kara's picture away]

Ward: Today's Trip's birthday. I didn't forget just so you all know. I should have asked two years ago, but how's the arm boss?

[pause again]

Ward: So Tahiti, huh? It's a magical place?

[another pause, Ward pulls out Lincoln's chain, Skye's seething face turns vulnerable and somber]

Ward: If I'd been there when he met Petrie, I would have made sure he had made it out alive. I'm sorry that that sicko did what he did to him. I'm sure Lincoln would want you to have this.

[building starts to vibrate as Skye hyperventilates, Coulson puts his hand on Skye's shoulder and calms her down, Ward throws Skye the chain and she catches it]

Skye: [sternly] Don't ever say his name again.

[Ward nods in agreement]

Skye: [on the verge of tears, grateful] Thank you.

[Ward gives a small smile, looks down at the ground]

Skye: [regains composure] You said you'd never lie to me. Do you still mean it?

[pause]

Ward: Yes.

Skye: Straight answers then. When you dropped Fitz and Simmons out of the plane, did you do it to save them?

Ward: No. But looking back now, I wish I had. I didn't lie to them when I told them that day that I do care about them. Wish I'd shown it.

Skye: If you could go back, would you do anything differently?

Coulson: Skye.

Skye: I need to hear this.

Ward: No. It happened as it did and that's that.

Skye: Did you truly care about 33? Kara?

Ward: Yes I did. I might have even gotten the chance to love her. Like you might have gotten the chance to love…

[sees Skye's face, decides not to tempt fate]

Ward: Yes. Maybe she was filling a void left when-I don't know. Yes.

Skye: [pause] Did you really love me?

[Ward's eyes widen, the others react in surprise]

May: Skye don't do this!

Skye: I need to know.

Coulson: Skye!

Skye: Answer the question!

Ward: Skye.

Skye: ANSWER!

Ward: YES! Yes and I still do! Those feelings didn't go away, even when you shot me.

Skye: Did you kill your parents and brother because of what they did to you in your childhood?

Ward: It's not that simple.

Skye: That's not a straight answer.

Ward: I can't. I can't.

Skye: You said you wouldn't lie to me.

Ward: I won't, but I can't do this now! I can't talk about them now!

[starts hyperventilating]

Skye: I say now, that means now!

Ward: [holds gun to head] Please don't make me Skye! Please! Please don't make me!

[on the verge of tears]

Skye: Alright. We'll come back to that.

[Ward turns the gun away and fires at the wall behind him, sighs in relief and begins to regain his composure]

Skye: For now, one more question.

Ward: I'm listening.

Skye: Are you truly sorry? For EVERYTHING?

[Ward closes his eyes and sighs]

Ward: For the things I had to do, lying and killing, no. I did what I felt I needed to, had to in a time of war for the side I was on. They were daunting tasks that I was obligated to do and I can't apologize for them. For hurting you all, making you all hate me, destroying your faith and trust in me and making life just so incredibly difficult since then though, for all that I'm sorry. I wish I could make it all go away. I have no one now. I have no-

[pause, Ward looks at each member of the team and starts hyperventilating again, he drops the gun and backs into the corner]

Skye: Ward calm down!

[Ward rocks back and forth]

Skye: Ward?

[Ward sweats profusely as he grows more and more panicked]

Skye: WARD!

[she sends off a sonic vibration that causes Ward to stop the instant she hits him with it, he calms down, gets up and smiles in a highly positive and genuine manner as Bobbi, Hunter and Mack come back in]

Ward: Alright team, HYDRA's on the move. They've had the jump on us ever since we found out they infiltrated SHIELD, so we better act fast. We have some daunting tasks ahead of us.

[the others all look at him puzzled]

Ward: What? Did somebody die? Something I should know?

[looks at Bobbi, Hunter and Mack and extends his hand]

Ward: You must be the new recruits. Grant Ward, Level 7 agent of SHIELD. I'm sure you've been briefed by now on HYDRA so…What? What is it?

Hunter: Is he for real?

Mack: Yeah, I think he is.

Ward: For real about what? Fitz what's everybody talking about?

Fitz: No! No, I don't believe you!

Ward: Believe what buddy?

Skye: What-the-hell?

Coulson: Simmons?

Simmons: He's suffered a mental breakdown that's resulted in selective amnesia. He's repressed the memories of his involvement with HYDRA because of how traumatic they are.

Ward: [chuckles as he pulls her into an awkward hug] Sims please, don't make me laugh.

Simmons pulls back.

Simmons: [puzzled] Sims?

May: I don't buy it for a second.

Coulson: May, I'm skeptical too, but…this seems like the real deal.

Simmons: If it was fake, I would have figured it out right away and would have taken full pleasure in doing so, but it's not. It's real.

Fitz: Jemma, are you sure?

Simmons: Fitz, I'm sure.

Bobbi: So he really did crack!

Ward: Is this some kind of training task? Let's get back to it later and focus on the task at hand-

[turns to go pick up gun]

Ward: What's my gun doing all the way over there?

Skye: Ward, leave it for now.

Ward: [turns around] Okay, whatever you say Daise!

Skye: Daise?

[May raises her gun]

May: Screw this, I'm shooting him!

Coulson: [taking May's gun and putting it on the bag on the window sill] May, no! We need to have him evaluated before we figure out what to do next.

May: By who? Andrew? Andrew is dead because of him! LINCOLN is dead because of him Skye! Even if that's not something he intended to happen! Best to end it all now before it goes on much longer!

[makes a rapid grab at the bag]

Coulson: [grabs the bag on the other side and pulls] May stand down, that's an order!

[clinging and clanging noises come from inside the bag, the case with the Terrigen Diviner crystals opens up and they roll across the table, one rolls off the table while the rest stop on the table, the team responds in unanimous shock]

Coulson: NO!

[Ward dives down, catches it before it hits the floor with his bare hand and gets up and puts it on the table, the team responds with jaws dropped and utter silence]

Ward: Whew! That was a close one, huh guys?

[shocked pause]

Ward: What? Was it something I did? Guys? Guy-

[Ward's hand begins to darken into hard gray]

Ward: What's happening to me?

[everyone remains petrified and shocked]

Ward: Help me guys! Please! Skye? Skye! SKYE!

[Ward freezes in place with his hands nearly cupping his ears near the side of his face as he turns completely to stone]

Simmons: Bloody Hell!

Hunter: Well that was scary.

Mack: That was some freaky ass stuff!

Fitz: I don't believe it.

[May runs forward, jumps and kicks the Ward statue, but is rebounded on her back while the statue only cracks a little]

May: It's not budging.

Coulson: Oh my God!

Bobbi: Well, is he…

[Skye approaches the stone Ward, gently touches his arm and the friction causes his stone fingers to break off his ears, which then fall to the ground and crumble into dust causing Skye to gasp]

Coulson: [sighs in disbelief] Seems like it.

Skye: [looking up to the statue's shocked and horrified face] Ward…


End file.
